"Hectic" is the best term to describe the last few months for all of the USA TODAY small-business challengers. As they try to evolve from the start-up planning phase to pulling in some revenue, each owner is packing their daily schedules with tasks as diverse as marketing, networking and website development.

Financial stress for small business owners abounds: mental exhaustion that comes when completing a lengthy bank loan application; uncertainty that arises when discussing outside investors; and anxiety that goes hand-in-hand with asking a friend and business partner to pony up more dough to get the business started.

Discover Financial Services said on Friday that it paid Morgan Stanley $775 million to settle a dispute over the proceeds from an antitrust lawsuit filed before Morgan Stanley spun off Discover in 2007.